Quote Originally Posted by LuckySlevin
OK. I've just had a mini realisation. They say the most profound things are the simplest.

I was laying in bed, with random thoughts floating around my head, not thinking about poker consciously and all of a sudden I get this thought. The thought is that if I had just joined a forum of neurosurgeons and had been talking with some of them, getting bits of advice here and there... the fact that I could pick up a scalpel and properly make a small incision without killing myself wouldn't mean I could perform surgery and it also wouldn't mean I could expect to make any money at all as a professional surgeon. Well in that instant it became clear to me that I've just had completely unrealisitic and lunatic expectations from my time in the forum and my small foray into the world of poker.

Just because some very experienced poker players are kind enough to give their advice and help complete amateurs, and just because I can 'play' poker at a whim thanks to the ease of online poker, does not mean that I should expect to be a winning player.

Poker is a profession and I need to look at it as such. You can't expect to climb the tiniest of tiny rungs on any career ladder in 8 weeks and yet that is what I've expected and more from my poker.

I had to come and write this while it was still fresh in my head. From now on I am not going to put unrealistic expectations on myself or my game. I am not going to expect to be anywhere near as good as advanced players that are making a living from the game, just because they post summaries of how they do it and are humble enough to speak to beginners in a down to earth unassuming fashion. This should not disguise the fact that most are virtual, if not, actual, professionals - and as such the chasm in understanding, ability, and earnings is huge between where I am now as a novice and where they stand.

This epiphany has also made me realise how lucky I am to be in such a community where a complete beginner has the benefit of so many different peoples experience and skills. I can not think of any other profession in which you can get virtual 1-1 tuition with experts who expect nothing back in return for their time than knowing that their time is not being wasted.

I should head back to bed now Where all this came from just before I was about to fall asleep I don't know, but I'm pleased it became clear to me, my perspective on what I expect from my game has changed big time, as has my appreciation of how lucky I am to have the benefit of so many talented players expertise.
I was just browsing the blogs and came across this little gem of a post.

I personally never had this realization, because I simply never thought of this game as an overnight longterm success thing. Similarly though, I did have a very closely related story:

I first started playing online in play money games for a couple months. Then I started playing in the tiniest penny games online. A couple months into this, I couldn't get to sleep one night. I lied in my bed for literally a few hours just day dreaming about my life. I began to think about money and poker and the possibilities. EUREKA! I suddenly had the same experience that you described a couple weeks ago. I came to the realization that this profession is a possibility. I had never been so optimistic than I was that night.

I just thought I'd share this, as your story sparked a memory I've had but yet to share with this community.

Play well and run g00t btw.